The head of an infant requires protection at all times. As far as is known, no device has been developed to provide protection for the head of an infant which will protect against the effects of a sudden movement, as by rolling over or moving when lying on a bed or the like, or from impact against an object when the infant is seated in a carrier, such as a stroller, a car seat, or the like, and the infant moves or falls asleep and comes into contact with the side or another part of the carrier. Very young infants often have uncontrolled movements when asleep. Infants of an age from a few weeks to 18 months or two years are more often carried about in strollers and some mothers have utilized towels or blankets to provide padding for the infant, particularly the head of the infant.
The child's chair pad of U.S. Pat. No. 2,782,839 provides padding for the back or rear of the torso, as well as for the body below the waist, but provides no protection for the head. Also, the body cushion of U.S. Pat. No. 3,093,407, although shown for use by an adult but presumably reproducible in proportion for use by a child, provides padding for the back and the rear of the anatomy below the shoulders, but no protection for the head. U.S. Pat. No. 3,366,294 discloses a safety carrier for infants which includes a flexible sheet of cloth or plastic but preferably vinyl plastic and having a first, shorter portion and a second longer portion, around the edges of each of which a padding, such as cotton padding, foam rubber, etc., extends. Each end of each portion of the flexible sheet is arcuate, while a pair of straps are attached in spaced relation to the curved end of the longer portion, extending inwardly for attachment, as by hooks or disconnectable fasteners, to a third strap which extends from the center of the end of the shorter portion. The two portions of the sheet are held in perpendicular relation by the straps, while an infant sits on the shorter portion of the flexible sheet, with legs extending over the padding thereof. The back of the infant is against the longer portion of the flexible sheet, with the neck or the back of the head engaging the end of the padding on the longer portion of the sheet. With such use, the infant is protected against a rearward impetus such as occasioned by an automobile being accelerated suddenly or being struck from behind. However, the padding does not surround the head of an infant and therefore, upon a sudden upward movement of the infant, the padding does not engage the head of the infant. Thus, the only protection for the head of the infant, upon such movement, is through the straps which pass over the shoulders. Also, the padding does not engage the infant's head upon a sudden sideways movement. In the one case, where the infant's neck engages the padding, the straps will engage one side of the neck upon a sideways movement, while when the back of the infant's head rests against the padding, the strap will engage the cheek or side of the head upon a sudden sideways movement.